Americans United - Bill Ketronhttps://au.org/tags/bill-ketron
enProfiting The Prophet?: Tenn. Legislators Fear Voucher Bill Will Subsidize Islamic Schools https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/profiting-the-prophet-tenn-legislators-fear-voucher-bill-will-subsidize
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">If vouchers are made available to a wide variety of private schools, including religious institutions, simply saying that Islamic schools can’t take part isn’t going to fly.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>Yesterday Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam abruptly pulled a private school voucher bill after some legislators refused to give him assurances that they would not try to alter the bill in ways Haslam does not support.</p><p>This is a good thing. Vouchers are a bad idea that distract from meaningful education reform.</p><p>But other voucher proposals are still pending in the legislature, so the issue is not dead in Tennessee.</p><p>During the legislators’ debate over these proposals, some interesting developments occurred that underscore why vouchers are such a reckless form of public policy. Many Tennessee legislators were all for the plan – until they realized that (gasp!) <a href="http://www.murfreesboropost.com/voucher-bill-could-fund-muslim-schools-cms-34994">Muslim schools might qualify</a> for the money too!</p><p>That’s definitely a problem for some lawmakers in the Volunteer State. Some of the same people who like the idea of vouchers aren’t exactly fans of Islam.</p><p>Consider Sen. Bill Ketron of Murfreesboro. In 2011, Ketron <a href="http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-02-23-tennessee-law-shariah_N.htm">sponsored a bill </a>that labeled any adherence to Islamic law (shariah) treason punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Critics said the measure would have outlawed religious practices, such as certain forms of prayer mandated by shariah.</p><p>Ketron is now urging the state to slow down on the voucher bill.</p><p>“This issue gives me pause in voting for the governor’s voucher proposal,” Ketron said. “These issues warrant further assessment.</p><p>“What’s the rush?” he asked.</p><p>Sen. Jim Tracy of Shelbyville concurred.</p><p>“This is an issue we must address,” Tracy said. “I don’t know whether we can simply amend the bill in such a way that will fix the issue at this point.”</p><p><em>The Murfreesboro Post</em> reported that there are several Islamic schools in Tennessee that would qualify to take part in the program. Among them are the International Academy and the Clara Muhammad School, both in Nashville. The Academy says it exists “to create a positive learning environment where students are committed to the teachings of the Quran and example of Prophet Muhammad.” The Muhammad School is run by the controversial Nation of Islam.</p><p>Ketron and Tracy seem to be a little confused. Let me clarify something for them: If vouchers are made available to a wide variety of private schools, including religious institutions, simply amending the bill to say that Islamic schools can’t take part isn’t going to fly. The government has an obligation to treat all religious groups equally.</p><p>Could some neutral criteria be devised that would have the effect of eliminating the Muslim schools? I doubt it. And the fact that these two senators are in the media blabbing about how much they don’t like Islam and don’t want to fund Islamic schools is strong evidence of bias. I’m sure a judge would find that relevant when this matter lands in court.</p><p>Here in the Washington, D.C., area, we’ve already been through this. During the George W. Bush presidency, Congress foisted a federally funded voucher “experiment” on the city. It hasn’t boosted student achievement for the targeted population, and many of the schools are of questionable quality, but House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has kept the program alive.</p><p>One of the schools taking part in it is called the Muhammad University of Islam. This unaccredited institution is affiliated with the Nation of Islam, a racially separatist sect with a record of anti-Semi­tism and homophobia. I shudder to think what young people are taught there. Your tax dollars are propping it up.</p><p>Of course, most Muslim schools don’t preach the extreme and exclusionary theology of the Nation of Islam. But, like all other religious schools, they do exist to impart theological views. This is their right – but you and I shouldn’t have to pay for it.</p><p>In fact, no one should be forced to pay for anyone else’s religious schooling ever. Americans United opposes taxpayer support for any religious school, be it Christian, Jewish, Muslim, etc. It’s ironic that the objection these legislators raise about Muslim schools is the same many people feel about other types of religious institutions.</p><p>I’m glad that at least one of Tennessee’s voucher proposals is dead for now. But others are still out there, so we need to remain vigilant. Chiefly, we need to remind lawmakers in Tennessee and elsewhere that disputes over which religious groups should get the money could be avoided if we don’t fund any of them and direct tax money to where it rightfully belongs – to public schools that don’t preach any religion and that welcome students from all faith perspectives and none.</p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/vouchers">Vouchers</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/vouchers">vouchers</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/tennessee">Tennessee</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/bill-haslam">Bill Haslam</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/jim-tracy">Jim Tracy</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/bill-ketron">Bill Ketron</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/nation-of-islam">Nation of Islam</a></span></div></div>Thu, 04 Apr 2013 15:22:38 +0000Rob Boston8261 at https://au.orghttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/profiting-the-prophet-tenn-legislators-fear-voucher-bill-will-subsidize#commentsTennessee Intolerance: Legislators Propose Jailing Followers Of Islamic Lawhttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/tennessee-intolerance-legislators-propose-jailing-followers-of-islamic-law
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">A bill in Tennessee seeks to criminalize Islamic law. </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>In November, voters in Oklahoma approved a misguided state constitutional amendment designed to ban Islamic law – known as Shariah – in the state,</p>
<p>The fact that there was no effort to impose Shariah law in Oklahoma and that even if there were the First Amendment would prevent it did not sway Sooner State voters; 70 percent of them were apparently concerned about a coming wave of mandatory burqa wearing and backed the measure at the polls.</p>
<p>It didn’t take a federal court long to <a href="http://blog.au.org/2010/11/30/a-ok-judge-puts-temporary-block-on-anti-shariah-amendment/">put a hold</a> on this foolishness. U.S. District Court Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange’s Nov. 29 ruling should have been a strong signal to other states to drop the anti-Muslim crusade.</p>
<p>Sadly, legislators in Tennessee weren’t listening. Two of them have managed to come up with <a href="http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110223/NEWS0201/102230378/2288/NLETTER01/Tennessee-bill-would-jail-Shariah-followers-?source=nletter-news">an anti-Shariah proposal</a> that is probably even more unconstitutional.</p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/49501971/Tenn-Anti-Sharia-Senate-Bill-1028">bill</a> sponsored by State Sen. Bill Ketron and Rep. Judd Matheny would give Tennessee’s attorney general the power to investigate complaints about Shariah and crack down on anyone practicing it.</p>
<p>But wait, it gets worse. The practitioners could end up in prison!</p>
<p>Despite what some people think, Shariah isn’t all about imposing Islamic beliefs in areas like crime, dress and social customs. Much of it deals with purely religious matters – when to pray, how to pray, where to pray, etc. Under Ketron and Matheny’s bill, any Muslim engaging in these strictly private religious activities would technically be in violation of the law.</p>
<p>Matheny, who is speaker pro tempore of the Tennessee House of Representatives, told the Nashville <em>Tennessean</em> that he never intended to ban religious activities. He told the newspaper, “I’m still researching it. My intent is to educate and to look at it.”</p>
<p>Just a word of advice to Rep. Matheny: In the future, it might be a good idea to do the research <em>before</em> you introduce a blatantly unconstitutional bill.</p>
<p>The <em>Tennessean</em> reported the bill is based on model legislation given to Matheny by the Tennessee Eagle Forum. That explains a lot. The Eagle Forum, founded by Religious Right warhorse Phyllis Schlafly to combat feminism in the 1970s, has never had a good grasp on the meaning of the First Amendment.</p>
<p>So let me explain the situation to Ketron, Matheny and the Tennessee Eagle Forum: Your bill gives the state attorney general the power to investigate people who are taking part in purely religious activities, such as prayer. That’s strike one.</p>
<p>Your bill proposes putting people behind bars for voluntarily choosing to live by a religious code. That’s strike two.</p>
<p>Your bill promotes ignorance and fosters a corrosive form of hatred by singling out practitioners of a certain faith for abuse and harassment. That’s strike three.</p>
<p>You guys are out. Do your constituents a favor by yanking this appalling piece of legislation. Trust me, it’s better to pull it now than squander precious tax dollars on a legal battle later.</p>
<p>If you don’t believe me, just ask the taxpayers of Oklahoma.</p>
<p>P.S. <em>Mother Jones</em> <a href="http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/david-yerushalmi-sharia-ban-tennessee">reports</a> that the real force behind the Tennessee bill is a man named David Yerushalmi, whom they say flirts with white supremacist views. This just gets worse and worse.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110223/NEWS0201/102230378/2288/NLETTER01/Tennessee-bill-would-jail-Shariah-followers-?source=nletter-news"><br /></a></p>
</div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/bill-ketron">Bill Ketron</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/islam">Islam</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/judd-matheny">Judd Matheny</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/shariah">Shariah</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/tennessee">Tennessee</a></span></div></div>Tue, 01 Mar 2011 18:22:40 +0000Rob Boston2168 at https://au.orghttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/tennessee-intolerance-legislators-propose-jailing-followers-of-islamic-law#comments